SDA Boconni MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 1
SDA Boconni Essay 1: What interests and occupations do you pursue in your free time?
I am a national-level Table tennis player. Table tennis has been one of the constants in my life. I have played since childhood and won various intra-school and intra-college tournaments. I have also represented my college & club in national-level Tournaments, where I have been fortunate to compete with & learn from international-level players who have represented their country. I play table tennis 3-4 days a week in the evenings after work. It helps me stay fit, and when I play, I usually hit a state of flow, which helps me disconnect from everything else, unwind, and relax mentally.
When I am not working, I am committed to giving back to the community by mentoring and guiding young minds towards their career goals, which profoundly interests me. I have mentored 100+ people within the past 10 years, helping them clear competitive Entrance exams and/or secure product management and consulting jobs. Seeing people I mentor succeed in achieving their goals also gives me immense satisfaction. It helps me interact with, learn from and understand the motivations of young students and/or professionals from diverse backgrounds.
Lastly, my wife and I love to travel and explore different cultures, which in turn helps us appreciate different perspectives and diversity in the world. We have made it a relationship goal to take a trip every quarter. We aim to travel to 1 international and 3 Indian locations yearly. Over the past 5 years, we have travelled to 7 countries – France, Switzerland, Georgia, UAE, Nepal, Bhutan, and Thailand apart from covering India in depth. I am sure the experiences gained will enable me to network with & learn more from people during the MBA program.
SDA Boconni Essay 2: What do you think you gained from your university studies? Conversely, what important things do you think your studies lacked?
My university studies primarily helped me develop technical skills, which gave me an understanding of how the digital ecosystem works and its nuts and bolts. It has enabled me to take up techno-management roles like Product management and succeed in my career. In addition to the academic learnings, I also experienced a flavour of leadership as I headed committees and clubs. I led marketing initiatives for sponsorships and eyeballs and organised events for them. Leading a team for the first time was an exhilarating experience that further strengthened my resolve to make a career on the business side of things.
Though my university exposed me to many great things, much was left to explore outside. For instance, I still had a minimal idea of how things work globally. We lacked international exposure. Indian technology landscape is export-driven, and lacking international exposure was a big gap that I felt when I first started working with international clients. I was lucky to get fantastic opportunities to work with international clients remotely. However, having an immersive cultural experience can broaden my worldview and help me become a global leader.
During my university studies, I also learned about basic business terminologies and business areas like marketing, sales, and finance. However, how they intertwined and how to implement this knowledge was left out. It was a very theoretical experience. When I started working and observed how businesses work via my startup stints, I learned actual implementation on the go.
Now, I want to upskill myself to become a global leader via a complete immersive international experience and program primarily driven by hands-on problem-solving via a case study approach and experiential learning methodology.
SDA Bocconi Essay 3: Explain the most significant goals you think you have achieved so far and the reasons for their importance in your personal growth
I think on a personal level, one of my biggest accomplishments is establishing a great, trusting relationship with my in-laws and supporting my wife in achieving her career aspirations.
In 2016, my engagement was cancelled due to misunderstandings and cultural gaps between my girlfriend’s parents and my parents. Sadly, I learned about it too late; when I did, it was beyond repair. I realised that had I been in touch and won the trust of my girlfriend’s parents, I could have been the bridge between our parents and prevented this from happening. But I took it up as a harsh lesson of life.
2 years later, I again found myself in a beautiful relationship and a situation where my parents and my wife & her parents were having conflicts due to differences in thought processes. As a strong, independent woman, my wife was highly ambitious and focused on her career. Her parents (both of them doctors), always encouraged her to be that way. It aligned with what I wanted in my life as well. However, my parents were of a traditional Indian mindset. They believed my partner should prioritize family and take care of the household.
This time, though, I actively communicated with my wife, her parents, and my parents to resolve conflicts in the early stages. I built a relationship of trust with my mother-in-law. Even though things got ugly at times, we got through that phase and came out stronger as the communication was regular, timely and robust. I consider this as my most significant goal achievement, as I learned from my failure and was able to avoid losing my life partner the 2nd time around.
SDA Bocconi Essay 4: Describe your strong points, personal and professional, explaining why you see them as such.
Staying calm in challenging situations – I believe I stay calm in challenging situations, whether at work or in my personal life. Staying calm helps me think faster and reach the correct, otherwise impossible solution. It has made me more solution-oriented, and I always look for solutions rather than pointing fingers. As a result, I have often resolved conflicts between family members and colleagues effectively without burning bridges. This has also helped me drive projects of critical importance where clients and stakeholders were quite aggressive in terms of timelines and impact.
Good people management ability – My managers and colleagues often commend me for having good people management capabilities. They feel I understand my team members well, know their strengths and weaknesses and help them improve wherever needed. They also believe I am a good mentor and like my style of giving feedback, both positive and negative.
A validation of this I have received over the years is that most of the team members I have directly managed are still in touch with me even though we are not working together. In fact, some of them who worked with me earlier have rejoined me at my current organisation.
Building teams and camaraderie – I am a sportsperson. I have enjoyed playing Table Tennis and cricket since childhood. I am an ardent cricket follower and like to host games at my place. More often than not, it helps me network and unlock team camaraderie even in the professional domain. Throughout my career I have been lucky to put together and grow some of the most amazing and high-performing teams, and I believe my passion for sports has been an integral part of that journey.
SDA Bocconi Essay 5: Describe your weak points, personal and professional, explaining why you see them as such.
Emotional about work – People close to me have often told me I tend to get very emotional about my work. According to them, I give it my all to work, but when it doesn’t get reciprocated in equal measure, I get disappointed, which sometimes also tends to hamper my judgment. For instance, once, while listening to a client’s feedback about a product my team and I built, I started giving a purist justification, which, although technically correct, wasn’t solving the client’s problem. After getting this feedback, I try to step back, look at things from a third person’s perspective, and be objective. This has been helping me get better as a decision-maker and leader.
Trusting people easily – I sometimes trust people without evaluating them thoroughly. As a people manager and family person, I make many people decisions regularly. Whether staffing a person on a project, deciding on a project’s delivery date or holding people at home accountable for expenses – I tend to trust people at face value. This has sometimes led to the team or family members suffering. To improve on this, I have started setting more guardrails and asking questions a lot more – this helps me get a good idea of whether the respective person is being truthful and helps make better decisions.
SDA Bocconi Essay 6: What are the reasons that lead you to apply to the Program at this point in your life?
The reasons for applying to the program at this point are
- Global Exposure – I want to gain exposure to working in a global setting with people from multiple cultures, backgrounds, and thought processes. Though I have worked extensively with International clients from the Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern regions, my knowledge of the European and American markets is limited. I am confident that the program will help me achieve this goal of mine.
- Diversify experience – Given that I have majorly worked in the learning and development and ed-tech industries, it will be good to take a step back and look at other industries and areas. The program will allow me to explore other areas and allow me to diversify my knowledge and experience.
- Learn more about leadership – A key area I am looking to gain more knowledge on is leadership. I have been in leadership roles and working with CXOs for the past few years, and their leadership skills, acumen, and emotional intelligence have always amazed me. The program will allow me to learn from global leaders and stalwarts, which will help me build on the skills and knowledge I have gained over the years.
- Networking opportunities – Though I have a good network in India and have networked with professionals outside India, the program will allow me to build a solid network outside my home country in Europe and other parts of the world. This will open up new avenues and opportunities for me.
SDA Bocconi Essay 7: What other possibilities have you seriously considered, apart from the Program, for reaching your personal and professional growth goals?
Apart from this program, I am considering other programs, but in case an MBA program doesn’t pan out, I would happily continue growing in my current organization and take on more challenging leadership-oriented roles.
Currently, I am the Director of Products, leading a team of 30. My primary responsibilities are majorly attuned to the products I manage directly and my team have a good percentage of operational components. If I stay in my current company, I will move towards a more strategic role as Vice President of Products, where the team size I manage will increase from 30 to 60 (including more senior folks like the Director of Products), the number of products I manage will increase from 2 to at least 3. The revenue I impact will also increase from USD 6 million to approx USD 9 million.
As VP, I will start contributing more from a strategic lens in terms of the product strategy based on the company strategy of market expansion, catering to trends prevalent in the market, cross-selling and pricing, among other things. I will be required to have a more cross-product perspective to solve market needs via multiple products based on trends in the market, wider customer needs and competitors’ actions. I will also have to be more involved in thought leadership and evangelism for the company – representing the company in various conferences, talks, and workshops across the globe.
SDA Bocconi Essay 8: Where and why do you wish to pursue your profession after receiving the MBA?
Why:
After my MBA, I would love to work in Europe.
In my entire experience, I have worked primarily with clients from developed economies in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Now, I would like to work with some in developed economies and learn how they have managed to stay at the forefront while creating a great culture that promotes work-life balance.
I have also visited countries like France, Switzerland and Georgia in Europe multiple times over the past 6 years, and I liked how people balance work and life there. I think it would be a great place to live. Additionally, I have friends and family living in countries like the UK, Germany and Switzerland who have also been doing well there, which further encourages me to pursue a career there.
SDA Bocconi Essay 9: What are your short-term professional goals (within the next 3-5 years)? What other options are you considering/have you considered?
My short-term career aspiration is to continue working in the product management domain with leading global technology companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, which impact millions of people around the Globe. Seeing how these organisations build habit-forming products that get people hooked will be fascinating.
As a backup, I plan to continue my career in product management at my current company. I can look for opportunities in the above-mentioned companies later when I gain more relevant experience in my career.
SDA Bocconi Essay 10: What are your long-term professional goals?
In the long term, I want to become a visionary Chief Product Officer who mentors a sizeable product team towards building products that help make people’s lives easier.
SDA Bocconi Essay 11: How do you expect to finance your Program studies?
The total cost of the SDA Bocconi MBA will be around 105000 Euros, according to the information on the website.
First, I intend to apply for the scholarships available for SDA students to cover the above-mentioned expenses. I hope my GMAT Focus Edition score of 685 (equivalent to 740 on classic GMAT) and my GPA in undergrad highlight my academic potential, and I can win scholarships & Fee waivers such as Prof. Claudio Dematté Scholarship and Outstanding Candidates tuition fee waivers.
If these scholarships and waivers do not come through, I will apply for loans from providers like Prodigy Finance and HDFC Credila. Also, I intend to continue working till the last month before joining the program, which will help me bolster my savings.
SDA Bocconi Essay 12: Study grants, awards, and other recognition earned in educational, cultural or social environments:
I regularly played sports such as table tennis, handball, volleyball and cricket in school and college. I have won multiple tournaments at the Intra-college and Intra-school levels. I have also represented my college in National Level Inter-college tournaments (in Table Tennis).
I was also a Core Committee member and the Media and Publicity Head of the 2nd biggest techno-management fest in Eastern India – Aarohan (NIT Durgapur).
I was 1st runner up in the IBM Technical Contest organised by IBM at NIT Durgapur, which saw participation by more than 200 students from across various colleges in India.
Client Testimonials
SDA Bocconi MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients - 2
SDA Bocconi MBA Essay 1: What interests and occupations do you pursue in your free time? What do you do Why do you do it What have you achieved What have you learned, and can share with the classroom?
I make educational content around product management, where my experience and enthusiasm lie. I try to understand product businesses through my YouTube channel and personal blog. I attribute such outside-the-work learning to being one of the reasons I could get a product manager job without a formal business degree or experience. It also helps me learn about the field and share my knowledge with aspiring product managers.
I am an animal lover. I rescued two stray cats a few years ago and have been trying to voice the voiceless since then. I have educated people on the process of rescuing and adopting stray animals, and nurturing them, such as neutering the stray and getting regular vaccinations. Rescuing animals has shown me animals can exhibit resilience and gratitude when cared for with love.
I also enjoy travelling. I have travelled to multiple countries over the last few years, including France, Switzerland, Georgia, and Bhutan. Travelling helps my partner and I disconnect from our daily lives and explore the world. Seeing different cultures, ethnicities, and traditions has enhanced my ability to navigate and appreciate diversity and inclusivity. Interacting with people from different backgrounds broadens my perspective. I have also found travelling a great way for my partner and me to share common interests and joy.
Lastly, I regularly volunteer with a children’s NGO in my city that teaches underprivileged children fundamental academic skills such as basic Mathematics and English writing. While teaching children, I realised the importance of preparation and conceptual clarity required as a teaching professional. It helped me share my knowledge with the world.. Helping someone grow is rewarding, and I’m grateful to be a part of it.
SDA Bocconi MBA Essay 2: What do you think you gained from your university studies? Conversely, what important things do you think your studies lacked?
Through my bachelor’s of engineering and master’s of technology, I have gained deep technical skills and developed analytical thinking.
These skills have helped me excel at my work. I could discover customer problems, translate them into business use cases, and convert them into technical documentation necessary for the technical team. To highlight an example of my technical acumen, at my last job with Droom, when we were finding ways to improve profitability, I suggested we build an automobile insurance product. Droom is an automobile marketplace where users buy and sell their used vehicles. Automobile insurance is mandated by Indian law, but buying insurance for used vehicles is a difficult process. After speaking to a few of our customers and industry experts, I implemented the project along with all the technical details necessary for insurance. This led to a 20% increase in our profit over three months.
Despite the substantial progress in my career, I recognize a gap in my education and skillset with regard to leadership management and soft skill development. For example, while presenting a solution to the CEO at Droom, I realised I could have done much better with my communication skills. I used to admire the presentation and communication skills of my colleagues with an MBA degree, especially from a consulting background. Furthermore, when leading a project big multi-year project, I found it somewhat challenging to develop a strategic vision, delegate and prioritize the right things.
These instances have made me realize the gaps in my technical education and now I think an MBA from a global university such as SDA Bocconi, which focuses on leadership development through experiential learning, would be a great stepping stone.
SDA Bocconi MBA Essay 3: Explain the most significant goals you think you have achieved so far and the reasons for their importance in your personal growth.
I grew up in a progressive family. My parents are doctors, and always encouraged me to pursue education and taught me to stand up for myself.
However, after I got married, things took a turn. Although my partner and I share our fundamental values, my partner’s family is traditional and believes in the conventional gender norms set for men and women. They expected me to conform to these norms. This started making me anxious.
The situation worsened when I lost a close friend to suicide. My friend had been my pillar of strength, so losing her shook me. I began feeling like a failure, both as a partner and a friend. I gradually slid into depression and started exhibiting inconsistent behaviour. It started affecting my work, and I felt as if I didn’t have a hold on my career.
I needed to fix the situation. So, I consulted a psychiatrist and began taking therapy sessions. I started Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to treat my condition. I used to journal regularly, started my YouTube channel to learn more about my field, exercise four to five times a week, and adopted two stray cats. These activities helped me develop a consistent routine between work and play.
In a few months, I overcame depression, got a job as a product manager without a formal business education, and strengthened my bond with my family. I consider transitioning into product management a significant goal because of the challenges I faced.
Dealing with depression was one of the toughest phases of my life and I am grateful to have overcome it. It has shown me the power of empathy and resilience in personal and professional growth.
SDA Bocconi MBA Essay 4: Describe your strong points, personal and professional, explaining why you see them as such.
I believe that my professional strengths are my analytical ability and my ability to deliver solutions with minimal supervision.
At my previous job at Harmonize, I was leading the implementation of a feature that required extensive industry knowledge. Harmonize is a software-as-a-service (Saas) based human resources management software that companies use to manage their daily operations, such as payroll, leaves, time, etc. One big problem we had was that our customers weren’t renewing their subscriptions after three months, so I led a project with the goal of increasing customer retention.
The idea was to develop a new feature to help our US and European customers process their payroll, including overtime hours worked. Although I knew little about the labour law requirements, I undertook the challenge. I understood the human resources policies in the US and European markets through extensive research and customer interactions. Within six months, my team and I developed and delivered the feature. This ultimately led to a 25% increase in our average retention rate. My manager also praised my ability to research and develop solutions without significant industry knowledge.
Outside of work, the thing that profoundly defines me is my empathetic nature. I am a pet lover. I adopted two rescue cats a few years ago when they were kittens. Watching them grow and nurturing them has shown me how actions convey empathy. Seeing them gradually transform into affectionate, trusting companions from anxious beings has shown me that empathy extends beyond human interactions. I have come to believe that empathy is a powerful force that can improve the lives of those around us and help us connect with the world at a more compassionate level.
SDA Bocconi MBA Essay 5: Describe your weak points, personal and professional, explaining why you see them as such.
Seeing the results from my work is a motivation for me, which pushes me to go further. However, in the pursuit of results, I used to push my team to deliver faster. However, in the process of launching projects faster, there were issues with the quality of the projects. I realised this when we got multiple obstacles and concerns from our customers after the launch of one such project. My manager also highlighted how I was missing a few edge cases. This made me realise I need to improve my leadership and communication skills.
I realised the impact of pushing deadlines in my work and have been trying to correct it. I intentionally review my work multiple times now to ensure I do not miss key details.
My second weakness is that I am not much of a public speaker. Hence, when explaining features or processes to my team, I used to lay out the basic flow without delving deep into the specifics. This led to miscommunication and different expectations from my colleagues. I realised this when my colleagues used to ask for clarification many times. Since then, I have been trying to overcommunicate to avoid miscommunication.
SDA Bocconi MBA Essay 6: What are the reasons that lead you to apply to the Program at this point in your life?
I was lucky to get a role in a business function, such as product management at Studio Mosaic, without a business degree or experience. At Studio Mosaic, I led the growth of our consumer productivity app. The app was targeted towards the US and European markets. By studying the market, talking to our customers, and analyzing data, I increased the revenue of our app by over 150% in a year. Working with international customers gave me valuable insights into different cultures, perspectives, and work environments. This gave me the confidence that I could be a successful product manager.
However, in my last role at Droom, I was managing a product vertical, and a pivotal moment required me to decide between building two products with limited resources at our disposal. Although I could make decisions with data and direct customer interactions, I realised I lacked the acumen to bring multiple business verticals together and see the strategic vision holistically.
In addition, I had an accident last year and had to undergo a few surgeries to heal. I had to quit my job and was on bed rest for a few months. It was then that I had the epiphany that life is fragile. After some introspection, I realised I should engage in activities to help me perform to my true potential.
This realisation helped me make the decision to pursue an MBA, which can equip me with the right tools and knowledge to move to a management role and navigate the dynamic business landscape. SDA Bocconi’s focus on leadership development and a global mindset will help me become a transformative, impactful leader.
SDA Boconni MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 3
SDA Boconni Essay 1: What interests and occupations do you pursue in your free time?
In my free time, I primarily pursue 2 interests – Oriental belly dancing and Costume designing.
Oriental belly dancing – As a kid growing up in a traditionally rich Bengali culture, I was always interested in pursuing various forms of arts such as painting, singing, dancing, and creative writing. While I enjoyed engaging in all of them, dancing became a passion for me. I continued to practice and learn various dance forms till my undergrad.
I started Oriental belly dancing around 3 years back and since then my crew and I have performed in all the metro cities in India. In last 3 years, I have performed solo as well as with my dance group in multiple public events. My passion for dancing motivated me to inspire and educate others about dancing and appreciate dancing as a way of life to stay fit and confident. Currently, I am a part of troupe members in Payal’s Dance Academy and I have started teaching belly dance enthusiasts across various locations.
Costume designing – My family have a textile business for almost 30 years now. We have our own manufacturing units for clothes and apparels. This is where my fascination with fashion and costume design began. I would often visit textile showrooms with my father to know how latest fashion trends influenced the dynamic of textile demand and supply. I am an avid reader and follower of fashion magazines and designers.
The blogs and regular field trips taught me a lot about fashion industry and inspired me to consult my father on the latest trends. Not only family business, I also consult an International Belly Dance Academy in costume designing and fashion accessories for their various performances. As a passionate dancer, I was able to bring in my fashion expertise in advising the Academy on latest trends and helping them in procuring designer costumes for their domestic as well as International events.
SDA Boconni Essay 2: What do you think you gained from your university studies? Conversely, What important things do you think your studies lacked?
My undergrad university has taught me and shaped me to be who I am today, it was culmination of a many firsts in my life.
My undergrad education was the first time I came out of my home and lived independently in a different state. Before undergrad, I always studied in an all-girls school and graduation was the first experience with a co-ed class. The best thing I learned was from the diverse cultural exposure. We had people all over India with various cultural background. I learned how cultural background influences one’s thinking and discussion behavior. I learned to understand all the diverse perspectives and different views.
As I learned more and more about engineering, my outlook and thought process changed with respect to dealing with problems. I acquired structured and logical way of thinking to deduce solutions for the problems.
As a budding engineer, one thing I felt our university lacked was hands on projects. Most of the learning was classroom based and even practical projects were theoretical in nature. A better laboratory infrastructure would have given us a platform to replicate our ideas and to design more creative solutions in a safer environment and learn by doing. As an Alumni, I would strongly recommend, my undergraduate university to focus on focus more on practical hands on projects.
SDA Boconni Essay 3: Explain the most significant goals that you have achieved so far and the reasons for their importance in your personal growth.
My family came to India as an immigrant from Bangladesh. When my father migrated from Bangladesh to India, he had to deal with a lot of hurdles to bring up four daughters. He went against all the odds to give us the life we deserve and to become a successful businessman that he is now. Growing up, I have always seen people coming and consoling him for having four daughters as in the conservative Indian culture daughters are considered a baggage who will one day marry someone and go out of home. My goal growing up was always to stand up on my feet and make my father proud for everything he has done. Today I am the first engineer in my family and a successful IT professional. All the hard work that I have put in has brought out the positivity inside me and helped me aspire for something bigger in life.
Another significant moment in in my life was three years back when I met with an accident and injured my back. The injuries restricted my movements and I couldn’t continue my passion for dancing. After a lot of discussion and research, I joined Oriental Belly Dancing because it involved smooth fluidic movements as opposed to demanding hard hitting movements in other dance forms. I continued with my interest even with the pain and within six months of joining the academy, I not only recovered from my injuries but also started performing in big events throughout India. After recovering from a serious accident, I regained my lost passion for dancing. These public appearances and stage performances have helped me become a more confident individual. This motivated me to inspire and educate others about dancing and appreciate dancing as a way of life to stay fit and confident.
Now, I have graduated to a dance teacher, and I love doing my bit to spread the love for Belly Dancing. Even though this is a never-ending goal, I want to believe I have inspired few women so far to respect this art and realize the importance of fitness to maintain current active lifestyle.
SDA Boconni Essay 4: Describe you strong points, personal and professional, explaining why you see them as such.
I believe one of my strong points is that, I have a good emotional quotient (EQ) and empathy which helps me get connected with people easily. As a kid growing up in a country where education was highly marginalized to girls, I have seen my father struggling to build girls school and working hard to continue their education. So, a part of my EQ and empathy comes from the family culture and this culture of marginalizing girl’s education pushed me towards community engagement in Kolkata at a very early age. I would always visit nonprofit run schools and talk to diverse student group and make them realize the importance of girl education to realize their full potential.
My second strong point which I acquired through the social outreach work is my communication skills which have helped me craft a successful career for myself. I have leveraged this skill in my professional life to not only successfully work in diverse teams but also confidently lead those teams.
Working as a Business Analyst, I had to interact with clients and capture and communicate business requirements in a very clear and concise way so that there is no scope for miscommunication or misunderstanding. These interactions have taught me a lot in keeping my communication very succinct and coherent. Furthermore, working with diverse cross functional teams I learned a lot about cross collaboration and leading teams with direct or indirect authority. These experiences and learnings have gone long way in enhancing my communication skills further.
Hence overall, I believe emotional quotient, empathy and my communication skills are the strengths which have helped me achieve success so far in my career.
SDA Boconni Essay 5: Describe you weak points, personal and professional, explaining why you see them as such.
Growing up, I always needed a to-do list for my daily activities to be in order and organized. I have made sure to follow the to-do list and it helped me to plan for an activity way before and finish it on time. After becoming a working professional, I have realized that planning everything way ahead doesn’t always help. There are times when we need to deviate or change the plan according to the situation. Initially it took a great deal for me to adjust to such situations where plans are needed to change. I started to panic thinking about the consequences. Under the guidance of my senior at workplace, I have learnt how to respond better to changing dynamics. My manager guided me in managing major project releases that has helped me face my fear and take spontaneous decisions whenever needed. I would still like to improve on that area and have myself prepared when I must take frequent spontaneous decisions without panicking or taking a lot of pressure on my shoulder.
My second weakness is being driven about my goals and setting up high expectations from people around me. Earlier this would often lead to disappointments as I was not cognizant about other capabilities. However, as I started leading diverse teams with varied ambitions and goals, I started setting one on one expectations from everyone so that everyone on the team stays on the same page while not letting me or the team down. No matter how big or small are the goals, I still let my ambitions drive my expectations but with being mindful of the people and the context.
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SDA Bocconi MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 4
SDA Bocconi Essay 1: What are the reasons that lead you to apply to the program at this point in your life?
I have 5 years of quality experience with Accenture where I have acquired extensive experience in commodity trading and risk management. I have worked with major oil, gas and finance clients as a Business Analyst to capture and define business requirements, recommend IT solutions and improve projects success metrics.
In these 5 years, I have worked with large cross functional teams and implemented project wide business process improvements. Working with these elite clients has provided me extensive knowledge in physical trading, financial trading, logistics, supply and demand management. After having acquired good experience in commodity trading, now in the short term I want to move towards a career in retail trading possibly towards apparel and textile trading, so that one day I can lead my family’s textile company to international expansions.
But to achieve my envisaged career goals, I need to enhance my understanding of business/management fundamentals. I believe courses such as Management and Organization of the New Product Development, Strategy Execution, Brand Management would help me understand the dynamics of the market and sharpen the skills I have developed over the years.
Hence, I would like to pursue MBA in a reputed school like SDA Bocconi where I would get perspective in leadership, strategy, business planning, marketing and driving international business.
SDA Bocconi Essay 2: What other goals have you seriously considered, apart from the program, for reaching your goals of personal and professional growth?
My family has a successful business in fashion apparels and textile trading. We have our own company “DRP Textile” that specializes in design and manufacturing of women’s and men’s apparels. I have been involved in my family business on a part time basis and improved few areas whenever it is needed. As we are expanding our business locally and trying to reach maximum retailers as possible, so helping my family business would definitely be my first priority.
But I believe with my current knowledge, even though I work diligently in our family business and learn about the end to end product management, it would be difficult to expand it globally in 5 years down the line without any experiential knowledge in International business or consumer behaviour that I can acquire in a reputed program like in SDA Bocconi’s. Working with a reputed International brand in Italy would also help me learn the nuances of fashion industry and implement it in real life setting.
Another possibility is leaving Accenture and looking for internships provided by International brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton etc. in India but such an exposure would help me learn about Indian market with renewed, country-specific, localised strategies. I wouldn’t be exposed to the areas such as design management, diverse consumer behaviour etc. which I need to scale my family business expand internationally.
SDA Bocconi Essay 3: Where do you wish to pursue your profession after receiving the MBA?
Having acquired quality experience at a global tech consulting firm such as Accenture, I have a strong grasp on how global businesses work in varied industries. Therefore, pursuing my profession anywhere across the globe would not be huge challenge for me. In a highly globalized world, where companies focus a lot on diversity and inclusivity, I feel I bring great set of technical as well business acumen on the table that will help me position myself well for my desired aspiration anywhere across the globe.
For an aspiring brand manager in fashion industry, I believe Italy as the renowned fashion capital of the world provides me an excellent platform to explore and network with myriad companies in fashion industry and learn the tricks of the trade from the best of the industries. That’s a strong motivation for me to pursue brand management career in Italy and then leverage that rich exposure to take my company global in few years down the line.
SDA Bocconi Essay 4: What are your short term professional goals?
Post MBA, I would like to target a brand management role in a luxury brand. I believe working as a brand manager for a luxury brand will help me learn the nuances of business in fashion industry, provide me the relevant experiential knowledge as well as the professional expertise required in launching, marketing and managing portfolio of brands. As a brand manager, I would acquire good knowledge about making informed business decisions to successfully cater to consumers ever changing needs and preferences.
For an aspiring brand manager in fashion industry, Italy, renowned fashion capital of the world, provides me an excellent platform to explore and network with myriad companies in fashion industry and learn the tricks of the trade from the best of the industry.
Therefore, I strongly believe, studying and working in the fashion capital of the world will provide me good exposure to the fashion industry which I can leverage in the medium to long term in scaling my family’s fashion apparels and textile business.
SDA Bocconi Essay 5: What are your long term professional goals?
My family have a successful business in Fashion apparels and textile trading. We have our own company “DRP Textile” that specializes in design and manufacturing of women’s and men’s apparels.
At present, our business is involved in every step from purchasing of raw cotton from market to manufacturing of ready to wear fashion apparels for men and women both. We have inhouse factories for sizing strong stable thread, weaving, dying, printing, designing, manufacturing and packaging. We take care of everything to produce and sell it to wholesalers and retailers.
In the long term, I aspire to help my family business grow internationally and take over reins of the business one day. I believe the knowledge I acquire over the years in retail industry combined with other aspects will help me make required changes in our textile company.
